Central Bistro Owner Opening Mexican-Asian Restaurant in Scottsdale

The restaurateur, who opened Central Bistro in East Phoenix last November, and North Scottsdale's Local Bistro in 2010, is planning to open his most ambitious venture yet this fall: a Mexican-Asian restaurant called Sumo Maya.

Slated to open in November, Sumo Maya Mexican-Asian Kitchen will be the focal point of Scottsdale Marketplace, a new, mixed-used development on the northwest corner of Lincoln Drive and Scottsdale Road. The restaurant will be joined by nearly 300 condominiums, a high-end yoga studio, juice bar, and retail spaces.

The "super-modern" 5,200-square-foot Sumo Maya, described as reflecting "the duality of both Mexican and Asian cultures, where aged, well-worn textures blend with 21st century design," will feature a koi pond entrance as well as 30-foot ceilings, floor-to-ceiling glass walls, and hand-carved pewter wood floors.

Other atmospheric points of interest include an open kitchen offering seats to watch the culinary show, a 24-foot-tall hand-carved tree at the room's center, an indoor/outdoor bar, and a 78-seat patio featuring 148-inch glass projection screens and a state-of-the-art sound system.

Sumo Maya's Mexican-Asian menu (still in development and with a yet-to-be-announced kitchen team) will be built around tapas-style small plates -- all under $20 -- with some being offered as dim sum. The selection -- which breaks down to around 30 percent modern Mexican, 30 percent modern Asian, and 40 percent Mexican-Asian fusion -- will include traditional dishes such as sushi, ceviche, and tacos as well as fusion plates like pad thai with al pastor, grilled pineapple and pickled jalapeño, and Peking duck tacos.

On the libations side, look for more than 100 selections of tequila, 35 kinds of sake, and craft cocktails.

"I have always had a love and passion for both cuisines," says Osio, who hails from Mexico City and has traveled to Asia frequently, "[They] are both extremely social in style and similar in anatomy."